Midfielder receives ringing endorsement after City link

STOKE City’s interest in Slovakian midfielder Tomas Rigo is understood to be genuine with the 23-year-old Banik Ostrava player also said to be keen to play in England.

- Keith Wales

Tt was reported last week that Stoke had submitted a EUR3m (£2.6m) bid for the Slovakia international amid rival interest from Turkish topflight side Trabzonspor.

‘And the youngster helped add to his appeal on Sunday when he scored Ostrava’s first-half equaliser ina 1-1 draw with Czech League rivals Dukla Prague.

One man with firsthand knowledge of Rigo is Slavia Prague academy talent manager - and Stoke City fan - Jonathan Davies, who worked with the youngster earlier in his fledgling career.

Davies, who was born in the Potteries and went to school in Meir, got to know Rigo when he was in the Slavia Prague youth setup before joining Ostrava two years ago.

He said of the prospective Stoke target: “Tomas is a very creative player, but what you also get is a lot of bravery on the ball.